Classification society ClassNK has signed a joint research agreement for cyber security systems development with fellow Japanese company e5 Lab.
The firms’ first joint research project will involve a proof of concept (PoC) trial of the ‘Marindows’ digital platform for ships developed by e5 Lab, an infrastructure for applications to support what the partners call the ‘robotisation’ of ships.
Having a single central software platform to connect technology systems on board can improve the level of cyber resilience as their cyber security can adapt at the speed that the software evolves with OTA (Over the Air) updates, the companies note, rather than at the speed of hardware updates as is more common.
“We are very pleased to sign this joint research agreement with e5 Lab, who is engaged in cutting-edge digital initiatives, and be involved in such an advanced project,” said ClassNK Executive Vice President, Director of Innovation Development Division, Hirofumi Takano.
“Cyber security measures must be widely implemented since the comprehensive digital platform for ships needs to connect various devices and systems on board.”
“Through this joint research, we would like to verify the best practices that the Society has jointly established with cooperating organisations, together with the e5 Lab experts, and use the knowledge obtained to establish standards for comprehensive digital platforms for ships.”
